TRURO — Connie Brooks-Adams would have liked to be anywhere else Thursday.

But on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, she felt it important to be in Victoria Square in Truro talking about her daughter, the late Tanya Jean Brooks.

Brooks, 36, of Truro was killed more than three years ago in Halifax, leaving five children without a mother. Her murder remains unsolved.

Before a crowd of about 60 people donning purple ribbons in the cold December air, Brooks-Adams read a poem she wrote in memory of her daughter.

Tanya was my daughter,

She meant the world to me.

Now she’s up in heaven,

Her spirit in now free.

In an interview, Brooks-Adams said she would continue to raise awareness about her daughter’s case and fight for other victims of violence. She said it is her hope that her efforts may inspire others to speak out and take action.

“It’s not just my daughter. There’s more,” Brooks-Adams said.

“To lose my best friend is a crime that nobody should have to go through.”

At Province House in Halifax, about 100 people gathered for a memorial service to remember the victims of the Montreal Massacre and those women in Nova Scotia who lost their lives to violence.

“Today is a sad day,” Premier Darrell Dexter told the crowd. “But it is important to remember that this is also a day of action. For many families, this day symbolizes hope, hope for a better and safer future.”

Bea LeBlanc, chairwoman of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, recalled a time when attitudes about violence against women were different.

LeBlanc, who began her career as a shelter worker in the early 1980s, recalled being in court and hearing a judge tell a victim of violence that he didn’t want her “dirty laundry” aired in his court.

“No judge would ever say a thing like that today,” LeBlanc said.

Like others who spoke at both services, she said more work needs to be done. But LeBlanc said she was “proud of the progress we have made and our shared commitment” to stand up against violence against women and girls in the community.

Dexter pointed to the province’s first toll-free hotline for domestic violence, which came about through working with the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia.

Another important initiative, he said, was the establishment of Nova Scotia’s first domestic violence court in Sydney.

The two-year project opened in June and uses a community-based approach to target offenders who must plead guilty and attend designated programs to get the education and support that they need to change their behaviour.

“This program — I think this is an indication of the extent of the need of this program — this program has handled more than 250 cases in its first four months,” Dexter said.

“I’m proud to say that it is helping prevent future violence."

But much of the credit goes to the various community groups that have worked to promote change, he said.

"It is because of your commitment to this complex issue that progress has been made," Dexter said.

“Your vision, your experience and dedication are integral to the development of the government’s domestic violence action plan. By working together in communities across this province, we have accomplished a great deal to help prevent and eliminate domestic violence.”

In Victoria Square, Brooks-Adams and others wiped away tears as they thought of lost loved ones.

Thursday’s event, and others like it, was a difficult one for her. Brooks-Adams said she has hope that further advances can be made, but she knows that progress can’t heal all wounds.